This document discusses private sector participation in commercial forest plantation development in Sri Lanka. It provides background on the history of forest management in Sri Lanka, initially led by the Forest Department beginning in 1887. Private sector involvement began in the 1980s but was unsuccessful until being encouraged again in the 2000s. Over 4000 hectares of land have been leased to private entities for forest planting. Benefits of private sector participation include promoting forestry as a business and improving management. However, issues include potential land rights problems and inability to consider all environmental and social impacts. The document recommends establishing oversight of private entities and providing incentives to investors to support further development of forest plantations through private sector involvement in Sri Lanka.

1. Private Sector Participation in Commercial
Forest Plantation Development
Pabasara Gunawardane

2. Contents
• Introduction
• History
• Private tree growers
• Statistics
• Advantages
• Issues
• Challenges
• Recommendations

3. Introduction
• The man-made forests occupy a significant place in the national
forest estate
• Generally these forest type falls into the category of multiple use
reserved forests as defined in the Forestry sector master plan
1995
• At present, most forest plantations consist of even-aged
monocultures

4. • Forest Department(FD) of Sri Lanka was started in 1887
• Forest plantation establishment was started in 1890s
• Teak, Eucalyptus, Mahogany and Pines were used
• Mainly focused on replanting in abandoned lands until 1950s
• Due to the policy change in 1953 large scale forest planting was
taken place to reduce the pressure for timber on natural forests
History

5. • During 1980s FD invited private sector to participate in forest
plantations
• Due to the lack of knowledge and capital investment the project was
unsuccessful
• Private sector was again encouraged in 2000s
• The response was extraordinary high
• After evaluating the proposals and verifying the financial stability of the
applicants FD has leased 4000ha for the private sector
• Private sector was also encouraged to establish forest plantations in
private lands also

6. • Exotic species were used in forest planting due to their
faster growth rates over the indigenous species
• Teak
• Eucalyptus
• Mahogany
• Acacia
• Pines
• Primary aim is to address timber and fuel wood demand

7. Private Tree Growers
• Private individuals
• Regional Plantation Companies
• Private companies offering small plots of lands stocked with
Teak or Mahogany seedlings to the public on long-term leases

8. 2%3%
6%
9%
11%
15%
22%
2%
1%
7%
22%
Forest lands in relation to agricultural and other land
uses
Rubber
Tea
Coconut
Paddy
Other perennial crops
Home gardens
Other Land Uses
Other non - perennial crops
Forest Plantations
Sparse Forests
Natural Forests(Closed Canopy)
Source: Statistical Abstracts of the Department of Census and Statistics-2010.

9. 18%
11%
42%
10%
11% 8%
Rubber
Coconut
Home gardens
Imports
Forest Plantations
Other
Contribution of wood sources as a percentage of total supply

10. Advantages of private sector participation
• Popularizing the concept ‘Forestry as a business’
among the general public
• Providing required intensive management for the
plantations (In order to gain profits)
• Technical knowledge is applied intensively
• Introduction of novel species to the trade
(Sandalwood, Aquillaria, Vanilla)
• Improvement in the research and development aspect

11. Issues of private sector participation
• Most of the time the land deeds are not legal
• Due to financial instability, some planting companies can be
bankrupted and the investors will be affected
• Social and environmental impacts and risks – some private owners
are not obligated to consider regional ecological concerns
• In order to attract more investors the future projections of growth
and related statistics may be over estimated and publish

12. Challenges
• Availability of land
• Environmental and social issues
• Unpredictable catastrophes
• Being a long term investment most investors discouraged to
involve

13. Estimated population growth in Sri Lanka (1970-
2020)

14. Suggestions
• Use of forest plantation as an Eco tourism venture
• Carbon trading ( UN – REDD)

15. Recommendations
• Establishment of a planning and monitoring body for the private sector
institutes
• Providing insurance and tax benefits for the investors
• Much coordination will be needed with other sectors such as wildlife
conservation, land use planning, water management, environmental
management, the timber industry, paper manufacturing and disaster
management etc.
• Raising the productivity of forest plantations using new technology
• Within the sector itself, much collaboration will be needed among all
stakeholders in planning and implementation.

16. References
• Forest department, Government of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka forestry outlook study, Food and
agriculture organization of United Nations, (2009)
• Dr. Subasinghe S.M.C.U.P, Plantation Forestry in Sri Lanka: Challenges and Constraints,
Presidential Address at the AGM of Institute of Biology Sri Lanka, (2007)
Importance And Uses Of Forest Plantations, srilankaforestry.blogspot.com
• Department of census and statistics, National accounts of Sri Lanka, (2012)
• Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera, Weak response by Central Bank to regulate forestry firms,
The Sunday times 15 June 2014
• The UN REDD programme, http://www.un-redd.org/aboutredd (as at 0416 on 14th June 2015)
• Dr. Yogarathnam N, Forestry in plantations will compensate for deforestation, The bottom-
line, 25 July 2010
• Dr. Ruwanpathirana N, Timber Utilization in Sri Lanka, Available at www.timber.lk (as at
0421 on 14th June 2015)
• De Zoysa, Mangala, Private Forest Plantation Development in Sri Lanka: Issues and
Challenges, available at http://www.researchgate.net/publication/237254206
• Ram Alagan, Sri Lanka’s Forest Cover: What We Know and What we Don’t, earth day 2009